A few weeks ago, Jessica Sachariason, Public Affairs Manager for Abbott, reached out to me about doing a product review of a new blood glucose meter called the Freestyle Precision Neo. Now, being an Omnipodder, I don’t really have much use for a glucose meter because the PDM that controls my pod is also my glucose meter. But Jessica mentioned that the Freestyle Neo was going to be a low-cost glucose meter and available without a prescription. Since so many of us know people who struggle to afford test strips, I thought this would be a great product to share.
So here are my thoughts after using the meter for a few days —
Pros:
- The meter is very slim and lightweight.
- Test strips are sold between $14-$17 USD for 25 strips and a one-time fee for the meter, which ranges from $22-$28 USD. That’s $0.68 or less for a single test strip. My Freestyle Lite test strips retail for $87.99 for a box of 50 at CVS, which is $1.73/each. HUGE savings.
- The glucose reading is big and easy-to-read.
- It has a touchscreen.
Cons:
- The strips are foiled wrapped, not in a bottle. I find foil wrapped strips more difficult to open, especially when you’re low.
- The screen is white font on a black background, which is my least favorite contrast.
- The lancing device that comes with the meter is ridiculously hard to open. I actually couldn’t figure it out and just used my Delica (although to be fair, I don’t really like my Delica either).
Freestyle meters are known for having some of the best accuracy in the industry (albeit that’s not saying much considering how poor accuracy standards are for test strips, but that’s for another post, ay?!). The Freestyle Neo strips are made with the same quality standards as the other strips, Jessica reports, which is good to hear. I compared a couple readings between the Freestyle Neo and my PDM, which uses Freestyle Lite strips, and the results were within reason. But since I was comparing between two Freestyle products, other people using different brands may notice different results.
I think this is a great option for people who might not get sufficient quantities of test strips from their insurance companies. I know how annoying and detrimental those quantity caps are! I also think this is a great option if you’re traveling, have an issue with your glucose meter and need a back up. It won’t put a huge dent in your wallet!
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I have found the new
Freestyle Precision Neo is 12 to 13 numbers not correct!
I have “2 good Free Style Lite” meters that are always consistent within 2 digets
Have been testing and comparing for 8 days,different times during day. Disappointed!
Unfortunately, depending on your BG reading, 12 points falls within the acceptable range, which is 15-20%. It doesn’t have to produce the exact same reading. Even taking two tests on the same meter might provide a result that’s different. I just tested this morning and was 88 mg/dl on my PDM and 96 mg/dl on the Neo and even at an 8 point difference, that’s only a 10% error.
If you’re using OmniPod PDM, shouldn’t you be using Freestyle Strips not Freestyle Lite? Cause they’re different… Better check.
I am very disappointed in this meter. I ran three test in a row with my blood as a sample, using the same sample, comparing it to a CVS meter, a freestyle freedom meter, and a reli-on prime meter. Then I ran two test using the control solution. The meter consistently came in 15-20 points lower than the freestyle meter. I know that it is just inside the acceptable range, but I would expect much more from a trusted name like Abbot diabetes. I will stick to my reli-on meter. It is an excellent balance of price and accuracy.
If diabetics are looking for a low cost, non-prescription glucometer and test strips, they should look into the Relion Prime from Walmart. The meter itself costs $16.24 and a box of 100 test strips costs $17.88 (without tax). I use it and am very happy with it.
Great article its very striking. You have beautifully presented your thought in this blog post. I found so many interesting things in this blog, excellent work.
I use the Freestyle Lite and thought this may be a good back up but, boy was I wrong. I decided to give it a good test. I did both the Lite and the Neo at the same time and found that many times the readings on the Neo were around 50 – 70 points higher than or lower than the Lite one which I have been using on my son for well over a month. But one of the things I liked about the Neo one was how easy it was to read and set up the time on it. I would have loved to use this one if the readings were more accurate What a waste of money good thing I had a coupon for the Neo one. I will be sticking with my Lite one and if I do get another back up it will be the Lite.
Please tell me the difference between FreeStyle Freedom Lite Blood Glucose Meter and this FreeStyle Neo Glucose Monitoring? Pls email me @ nenettecoronel@icloud.com or call me 702-772-4741 Thnx.